Hurricane Irma Campaign 2017 NSCUBA

Hurricane Irma Relief & Reconstruction for Cuba Campaign 

-Isaac Saney, CNC National Spokesperson, September 10, 2017 - 

Hurricane Irma menaced and devastated the eastern and northern Caribbean, striking Cuba from September 7-10, resulting in significant and widespread damage. Accompanied by massive flooding, its sweeping destruction encompassed housing, communications, infrastructure, agricultural equipment, crops, and community buildings. 

While, we are confident that the Cuban people will overcome any challenges posed by Hurricane Irma, Cuba will, nevertheless, have to expend considerable resources, both immediate and long term, in order to overcome the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Irma. 

To assist Cuba in its immense efforts of recovery and reconstruction, the Canadian Network On Cuba (CNC) is launching the Hurricane Irma Relief & Reconstruction for Cuba Campaign. 

Donations to the Hurricane Irma Relief & Reconstruction for Cuba Campaign can be made by mailing cheques made out to the Canadian Network On Cuba to: CNC Hurricane Relief, 56 Riverwood Terrace Bolton, ON L7E 1S4. Please write "CNC Hurricane Irma Relief Fund" on your cheque's memo line.

All donations will be forwarded 100% directly to Cuba. 

In recent years, the CNC has had a series of successful Hurricane Relief Campaigns. The most recent was in 2016 when Hurricane Matthew struck eastern Cuba, devastating Baracoa, Cuba’s oldest city.  In 2008, the CNC’s most extensive campaign was launched when a series of hurricanes caused damage in excess of $10-billion. The CNC not only raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also directly participated in the construction of a new social and cultural centre on La Isla de La Juventud (Isle of Youth).   

 

In 2017, as Cuba faces this latest challenge, we are confident that Canadians - as they have repeatedly done - will once again demonstrate their friendship and solidarity with Cuba by supporting the island as it recovers from the ravages of Hurricane Irma.

Our experience with regard to Cuba's response to natural disasters is that it knows how to multiply the value of any donations it receives. We feel confident, based on the island's unsurpassed humanitarian work - both within Cuba and in other countries - that it has the skills, the organization and the ethical and moral values to put whatever assistance it receives to the best possible use. 

Even at this difficult time, in the midst of Hurricane Irma’s havoc, Cuba’s deep internationalist spirit has once again been profoundly demonstrated by the sending of more than 750 Cuban health workers to Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Haiti, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and the Bahamas.

As in past campaigns, we hope that solidarity organizations and individuals will generously support Cuba in its efforts to rebuild after this devastating hurricane.  

Send Donations to: CNC Hurricane Relief, 56 Riverwood Terrace Bolton, ON L7E 1S4. Please make cheques out to the Canadian Network On Cuba and write "CNC Hurricane Irma Relief Fund" on your cheque's memo line.

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Appeal to Our Fighting People - Cuban government statement on Hurricane Irma

Monday, 11 September 2017

Let us face recovery with the example of the Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, who with his permanent faith in victory and strong will has taught us that there are no impossible tasks.

Hurricane Irma, with its destructive force, lashed out at our Island for more than 72 hours, from the morning of Friday 8 to Sunday 10 September. With winds that at times surpassed 250 kilometres per hour, it crossed the north of the country from Baracoa, also punished by another phenomenon of this type almost a year ago, to the vicinity of Cardenas. However, by the immensity of its size practically no territory was freed of its effects.

Called by experts as the largest hurricane formed in the Atlantic, this meteorological phenomenon caused severe damage to the country, which, precisely b because of its size, have not yet been quantified. A preliminary look evidences damages in housing, the national power grip and agriculture.

In addition it hit some of our main tourist destinations, however we will restore the damages before the start of the peak season. We have the necessary human and material resources, as one of the main sources of income for the national economy.

It has been hard days for our people, who in only a few hours have seen how everything we have built with great effort has been struck down by a devastating hurricane. The pictures of the last hours are eloquent, as is the spirit of resistance and victory of our people who are reborn with every adversity.

In these difficult circumstances, paramount have been the unity of the Cubans, the solidarity among the neighbours, the discipline to follow the instructions issued by the National Civil Defense General Staff and the Defense Councils at all levels, the professionalism of the specialists at the Institute of Meteorology, the immediacy of our media and journalists, the support of mass organizations, as well as the cohesion of the governing bodies of the National Defense Council. Special mention to all our women, including the leaders of the Party and the Government, who with steadiness and maturity directed and faced the difficult situation.

The days to come will be a lot of work, where the strength of the Cubans and the indestructible confidence in their Revolution will once again be demonstrated. It is not time to mourn, but to rebuild what the winds of Hurricane Irma tried to disappear.

With organization, discipline and the integration of all our structures, we will go ahead as we have done on previous occasions. Let us not fool ourselves, the task before us is immense, but with a people like ours we will win the most important battle: recovery.

At this crucial moment, the Central Trade Union Organization of Cuba (CTC) and the National Association of Small Farmers, together with other mass organizations, will have to redouble their efforts to erase as soon as possible the aftermath of this destructive event.

A principle remains unchanged: the Revolution will not leave anyone homeless and measures are already taken so that no Cuban family is left to their fate.

As has been customary every time a weather phenomenon hits us, there are many signs of solidarity received from all over the world. Heads of State and Government, political organizations and friends of solidarity movements have expressed their willingness to help us, which we thank on behalf of the more than eleven million Cubans and Cubans.

Let us face the recovery with the example of Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, who with his permanent faith in victory and strong will has taught us that there are no impossible. In these difficult hours, his legacy makes us strong and unites us.

Raul Castro Ruz

Havana, 10 September 2017

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Moncada Commemoration: Affirming History,  Independence and the Cause of Peace and Justice

- Isaac Saney, National Spokesperson, Canadian Network On Cuba -

On July 26, 1953, a group of courageous young men and women -- led by Fidel Castro -- attacked the Moncada Barracks in the city of Santiago de Cuba, and the Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Barracks in Bayamo, in an attempt to overthrow the U.S. supported puppet dictator Fulgencio Batista. As the island's second largest military garrison, the Moncada Barracks was critical to Batista's military control of southern Cuba. The goal was to seize the weapons and distribute them to the people and spark a national uprising that would not only overthrow the Batista dictatorship but also establish Cuba's independence and sovereignty. This heroic act is annually commemorated all over Cuba as the beginning of the movement and struggle that laid the foundation of the Cuban Revolution. 

          This year's commemorations are imbued with a particular poignancy;  it is the first without the physical presence of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro. Fidel epitomized the unbending commitment to Justice, Dignity and Independence that has characterized Cuba since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.  Fidel's living legacy continues in the work of the Cuban Revolution. Fidel's example and fidelity to principle continue to inspire the Cuban people, who continue on the path of independence, self-determination and human dignity. 

        The attacks were carried out by an organization that was created in 1952, under the leadership of Fidel Castro and Abel Santamaria, and comprised of young workers, students, artisans, peasants and landless farmers. It had around 1,500 members and affiliated itself with historic Cuban national liberation figures such as José Martí and Antonio Maceo. Around 120 youths were part of the attacks, approximately 70 of whom were killed, with many being tortured and executed after the attack. The survivors, including Fidel Castro, were subsequently put on trial and given lengthy prison sentences. Most, including Fidel Castro, were released after an amnesty in May 1955. This amnesty was the result of the mass mobilization of Cubans in support of the imprisoned rebels. Under the leadership of Fidel Castro, the July 26th Movement galvanized Cubans, ultimately leading to the victory of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959.

          

 

While the Moncada attack failed in fulfilling its immediate objective, it was central to the Cuban people's struggle for national affirmation and social emancipation. Cubans have always placed Moncada in a broad historical context, viewing it as a crucial link in the century-long striving of Cuba to free itself from Spanish colonial domination and U.S. tutelage, and then, establish authentic independence. At his trial Fidel Castro delivered a speech that eventually became the manifesto of the movement to overthrow the Batista tyranny. It was published as La Historia Me Absolvera (History Will Absolve Me) and laid out the national and social goals of the revolutionary movement that eventually triumphed on January 1, 1959. Today, the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes barracks, now a school and a museum, stand as concrete symbols of that successful struggle.

               Canadian commemorations of Moncada Day are a reflection of the ties that exist between Cuba and Canada. Canadians admire the courageous and rebellious spirit embodied in Moncada; a spirit that today is so powerfully manifested in Cuba's steadfastness against the efforts of the empire to destroy the island's independence. Canadians irrespective of their political or ideological positions, stand in favour of building relations with Cuba based on mutual respect and equality, relations which uphold Cuba's right to self-determination and sovereignty. Having traveled to Cuba in the hundreds of thousands and having witnessed Cuban reality for themselves, Canadians have come away with a profound respect and admiration for the Cuban people and their efforts to build and defend a society centred on independence, justice and human dignity.

Since the Cuban people embarked on the road paved by Moncada, Cuba has refuted and      continues to refute the colonialist mentality and practice of foisting on independent countries   imperial arrangements and dictates that they resoundingly reject.The Cuban Revolution has
refused to renounce its right to self-determination and the principles, principles forged in the crucible of Moncada.  

              
In the years that have flashed by since Moncada, the Cuban people have shown what is possible to achieve when one defends genuine independence and self-determination. The example of Cuba assumes even greater significance as the 21st century unfolds, fraught with grave dangers that threaten the well being of the peoples of the world. In the midst of these profound challenges, Cuba refutes those who argue that relations among the world's nations and peoples are -- and can only be -- determined by self-interest, the pursuit of power and wealth. As Cuba continues on the path of social justice, human dignity and international solidarity, the Cuban Revolution continues to be an inspiration to humanity. Cuba demonstrates that it is possible to build relations based on genuine solidarity and social love; it is a living example of the alternatives that permit people to realize their deepest aspirations, and that another better world is possible.  History has given its judgment, vindicating the attack on the Moncada Barracks!

Long Live the Martyrs of Moncada!
Long Live the Cuban Revolution!

NO TO THE U.S. ECONOMIC BLOCKADE OF CUBA!  

NO TO U.S. VIOLATION OF CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY! 

Isaac Saney, National Spokesperson, Canadian Network On Cuba, June 15, 2017

The Canadian Network On Cuba (CNC) denounces the violation of the sovereignty of Canada by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department.  OFAC fined the American Honda Finance Corporation (AHFC) $87,255 for approving and financing between February 2011 and March 2014 the leasing by Honda Canada Finance Inc. of 13 cars to the Embassy of Cuba in Canada. 

This is an unambiguous act of hostility against Cuba carried out within Canada by Washington. The extraterritorial application of the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba targets not only Canada, as the AHFC is a subsidiary of the American Honda Motor Company, which is itself owned by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and based in Japan, not the U.S.

Because Honda Canada Finance Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary company of American Honda Motor Company, Washington insists that it follow U.S. law as demanded by the 1992 Torricelli Act and the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.

In short, U.S. law supplants Canadian law within Canada! 

Not only is this a violation of the sovereignty of Canada, it contravenes the Canadian Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act (FEMA). 

In response to the Torricelli Act and the Helms-Burton Bill, the Government of Canada specifically amended FEMA in order to protect Canada against the increasing extraterritorial nature of the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba. Thus, FEMA prohibits Canadian corporations from complying with the extraterritorial measures of U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba

This violation of Canadian sovereignty by the U.S. Treasury Department illustrates that Washington not only wages an economic blockade against Cuba but also a diplomatic and political blockade. 

Is this extraterritorial interference in Canadian sovereignty a warning that Canada-Cuba relations is now a direct target of the Trump administration?

The CNC calls on the Government of Canada to uphold the country's sovereignty and reject this or any other effort to implement in Canada the internationally condemned and illegal U.S. economic blockade of Cuba. 

The CNC urges the Canadian government and parliamentarians not to allow Canada's policy towards and relations with Cuba to be targeted or undermined.
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CUBAN WOMEN RESPOND TO TRUMP

Statement from the Federation of Cuban Women in response to threats by the U.S. President

Accustomed to struggling and resisting, we Cuban women state to U.S. President Donald Trump, that we do not accept walls, intervention or threats from anybody, and much less from those who wish to disregard the legacy which has sustained and motivated us for centuries

Federación de Mujeres Cubanas (Federation of Cuban Women)Granma, june 22, 2017 12:06:04

We cannot remain silent in the face of such ignorance.

The President of the United States is violating the human rights of the Cuban people with his new policy toward Cuba which reinforces the blockade. The over four million members of the Federation of Cuban Women denounce, before the world, the measures announced, which constitute an act of political aggression against the Cuban people, including women, children, and adolescents, in its aim to make their daily lives more difficult.

As such, we firmly support the declaration by our Revolutionary Government.

It is an insult to describe Playa Girón mercenaries as heroes. If they have forgotten history, or pretend to have done so, there are the testimonies from Nemesia and her siblings, who saw their mother die during the invasion; there are the families of the youth who offered their lives defending their country.

They also fail to recognized the bravery of Cuban mothers who took to the streets demanding an end to the murder of their children, including that of Frank País, in which Bonifacio Haza – a henchman for the Batista dictatorship and father of the out-of-tune violinist - was involved.

Last January 21 hundreds of thousands of women around the world came out to protest against Trump's misogyny and sexism, a man who publicly mocked a disabled journalist.

A pregnant African-American woman was recently shot and killed by police in Seattle, adding to the rising number of Blacks killed at the hands of the U.S. police force. What moral right does the U.S. President have to lecture Cuba about human rights?

Cuba is one of the countries which offers the most physical and moral protection to its people in the world, where the dignity of the people is at the centre of social policies. One only need look at the levels of development achieved by Cuban women, the financing that our country devotes to health, education and social security programs, among others, in order to understand the deeply humanist dimension of our Revolution.

Accustomed to struggling and resisting, we Cuban women say to you (President Trump), that we do not accept walls, intervention or threats from anybody, and much less from those who wish to disregard the legacy which has sustained and motivated us for centuries.

We Cubans have never given in to coercion of any kind. It would do well for you to read the history of the Maceo-Grajales family to discover the mettle of which our nation is forged.

We will always be ready to defend the gains achieved for and by Cuban women. The struggle for peace will be our permanent banner in order to protect our children’s future. Once again we proclaim that, inspired by the teaching and example of Fidel and Vilma, with or without the blockade, we will continue to build our socialist, inclusive, and participative homeland.

National Secretariat

The Federation of Cuban Women

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ICAP Message to the Solidarity Movement with Cuba

"We have been able to enjoy the privilege of your friendship, of your solidarity, of your battles against the blockade, against the aggressions on Cuba, because you are not warriors, nor launchers of atomic bombs. What is a blockade? A silent atomic weapon that kills women, men, children, adolescents; that is the blockade." - Fidel Castro Ruz, Cuban Mission to UN, New York, 1995

Dear friends,

The hostile announcement of the US Government on Friday, June 16, differs and opposes diametrically from the growing desire and struggle of the American people to achieve a total normalization of relations between their country and Cuba and the lifting of the genocidal blockade that has been applied against our homeland for more than fifty years.

The Cubans and the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples are grateful to all solidarity organizations from all over the world that have been supporting for years the right of our nation to defend its sovereignty, independence and self-determination.

Countless, in such a short period of time, have been the messages received at ICAP with words of friendship and true respect for our country and against the reversion of the exchanges between both nations and their peoples that President Donald Trump expressed threateningly in his wrong speech.

We know that this demand has reached the most dissimilar corners of the world demonstrating once again that there is no policy limiting the friendship ties between any people and the Cuban homeland, to which courageous and solidarity soldiers representing other nationalities along with Cuban patriots, also offered their lives for its freedom and independence.

If anything we are aware of, is that in the future the actions against the blockade will have to continue, and the efforts to dismantle this policy will be our main objective as this is the most flagrant violation of the Cuban people´s human rights. In the new battles to be fought with these noble and indestructible purposes we know that we can count, as ever, on you.

The struggle continues, the victory is certain!

Long live solidarity!

Ever onward to victory!

Fernando González Llort

ICAP President

ICAP (Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos - Cuban Institute for Friendship With the Peoples)

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CUBA RESPONDS TO TRUMP

Any strategy directed toward changing Cuba's constitutional order is condemned to

failure: Statement of the Cuban Revolutionary Government statement released on June 16 in response to new Presidential Directive on U.S. policy toward Cuba - Denounciation of Donald Trump's intention to halt progress in normalization of relations Donald Trump's intention to halt progress in normalization of relations 

Granma, June 19, 2017

June 16, 2017, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in a speech replete with hostile rhetoric which recalled the era of open confrontation with our country, announced in a Miami theater his administration's policy toward Cuba which reverses advances made these last two years, after December 17, 2014, when Presidents Raúl Castro Ruz and Barack Obama made public the decision to reestablish diplomatic relations and initiate a process toward normalization of bilateral ties. 

In what constitutes a setback in relations between the two countries, Trump delivered a speech and during the same event signed a policy directive entitled, " National Security Presidential Memorandum on Strengthening U.S. Policy toward Cuba," mandating the elimination of educational "people-to-people" exchanges undertaken by individuals, and greater control of U.S. travelers to Cuba, as well as the prohibition of economic, commercial, or financial transactions on the part of U.S. companies with Cuban enterprises linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces, intelligence or security services - all of this with the intentional objective of denying us income. The U.S. President justified this policy with alleged concerns about the human rights situation in Cuba and the need to rigorously enforce blockade laws, conditioning its lifting, as well as any improvement in bilateral relations, on our country making changes elemental to our constitutional order. 

Trump likewise vacated the Presidential Policy Directive, "Normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba," issued by President Obama on October 14, 2016, which, although it did not attempt to hide the interventionist character of U.S. policy or the objective of advancing its interest in changes in our country's economic, political and social order, the directive recognized Cuba's independence, sovereignty, and self-determination, and the Cuban government as a legitimate, equal interlocutor, as well as the benefits that both countries and people could gain in a relationship of civilized coexistence, within the context of the great differences which exist between our two governments. It also recognized that the blockade was an obsolete policy that should be eliminated. 

Once again, the U.S. government resorts to the coercive methods of the past, adopting measures to tighten the blockade, in effect since February of 1962, which not only causes harm and depravation to the Cuban people and constitutes an undeniable obstacle to our economy's development, but also impacts the sovereignty and interests of other countries, generating international condemnation. 

The measures announced create additional obstacles to already restricted opportunities available to U.S. businesses to trade with and invest in Cuba. 

At the same time, they further restrict the rights of U.S. citizens to visit our country, already limited given the obligation to employ discriminatory licenses, at a time when the U.S. Congress - as a reflection of the opinion of broad sectors of this society - demands not only an end to the travel ban, but also that restrictions on commerce with Cuba be eliminated. 

President Trump's announcements contradict the majority support of the U.S. public, including the Cuban émigré community in that country, for the lifting of the blockade and normal relations between Cuba and the United States. 

For his part, the U.S. President, once again poorly advised, makes decisions that favor political interests of an extremist minority of Cuban origin in the state of Florida, which for small-minded reasons do not desist in their pretensions to punish Cuba and its people, for exercising the legitimate, sovereign right to be free and take control of their own destiny. 

At a later time, we will more thoroughly analyze the scope and implications of this announcement. 

The government of Cuba denounces the new measures to tighten the blockade, which are destined to failure, as has been repeatedly demonstrated in the past, and which will not achieve their purpose of weakening the Revolution, or breaking the Cuban people, whose resistance to aggression of any kind or origin has been proven over almost six decades. 

The government of Cuba rejects the manipulation of the issue of human rights for political purposes, and double standards in addressing it. The Cuban people enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms, and have achieved accomplishments of which they are proud, and which are only a dream for many of the world's countries, including the United States itself, such as the right to health, education, social security, equal pay for equal work, the rights of children, the right to food, peace and development. With its modest resources, Cuba has contributed, as well, to the expansion of human rights in many places around the world, despite the limitations imposed given its condition as a blockaded country. 

The United States is in no position to teach us a lesson. We have serious concerns about respect for and protection of human rights in this country, where there have been numerous cases of police murder, brutality, and abuse, in particular against the African-American population; the right to life is violated as a result of deaths caused by firearms; child labor is exploited; and serious manifestations of racial discrimination exist; threats are being made to impose more restrictions on health care services, which would leave 23 million persons without coverage; women do not receive equal pay for equal work; emigrants and refugees are marginalized, in particular those from Islamic countries; the building of walls that belittle neighbors is proposed; and international commitments to protect the environment and confront climate change are abandoned. 

Likewise, also of concern are violations of human rights committed by the United States in other countries, such as the arbitrary detentions of dozens of prisoners in territory illegally occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base in Cuba, where torture has taken place; the extrajudicial executions and deaths of civilians caused by bombs and the use of drones; and wars unleashed against different countries like Iraq, justified with lies about the possession of weapons of mass destruction, with disastrous consequences for the security and stability of the Middle East region. 

We recall that Cuba is a state party to 44 human rights international covenants, while the United States is so to only 18. Thus we have much to show, to say, and defend. 

Upon confirming the decision to reestablish diplomatic relations, Cuba and the United States affirmed the intention to develop respectful, cooperative ties between the two people and governments, based on the principles and purposes enshrined in the United Nations Charter. 

In the declaration issued July 1, 2015, the revolutionary government of Cuba reaffirmed, "These relations must be founded on absolute respect for our independence and sovereignty; the inalienable right of every state to choose its own political, economic, social, and cultural system, without interference of any kind; and on equality and reciprocity, which constitute irrevocable principles of international law,” as stated in the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, signed by heads of state and government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), during its 2nd Summit, in Havana. Cuba has not renounced these principles, and never will. 

The government of Cuba reiterates its willingness to continue the respectful dialogue and cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as well as the negotiation of pending bilateral issues with the government of the United States. Over the last two years, it has been demonstrated that, as President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, has repeatedly stated, the two countries can cooperate and coexist in a civilized manner, respecting differences and promoting all that benefits both nations and peoples, but it cannot be expected that, in order to do so, Cuba will make concessions which compromise our independence or sovereignty, nor accept conditions of any type. 

Any strategy directed toward changing the political, economic and social system in Cuba, be it one that seeks to do so through pressure and dictates, or with the use of more subtle methods, is condemned to failure. 

The changes which may be needed in Cuba, like those made since 1959 and those we are undertaking now as part of the updating of our socio-economic model, will continue to be decided independently by the Cuban people. 

As we have since the triumph of the Revolution, January 1, 1959, we will assume any risk, and continue firm and sure in the construction of a sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation. 

Havana, June 16, 2017. 

8th BIENNIAL CONVENTION OF THE CANADIAN NETWORK ON CUBA:BUILDING & DEEPENING CANADA-CUBA SOLIDARITY

From June 3-4, 2017, Canada-Cuba solidarity and friendship organizations from across the country held the very successful 8th Biennial Convention of the Canadian Network On Cuba in Toronto City Hall.  After the acknowledgment that delegates and guests were meeting on traditional and unceded indigenous territory, Chief Laforme of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation opened the convention with a poignant message on the unity and fraternity of the world’s peoples.

The Convention's delegates and guests then rendered homage to the late Fidel Castro, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, by a minute of silence. 

Invited guests included Deborah Ojeda (Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Cuba), Tania López Larroque (Consul General of Cuba), Sandra Ramirez Rodriguez (Director, North American Desk of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples-ICAP), Yamil Eduardo Martinez Marrero (Canada Desk - ICAP) and other Cuban diplomats and guests.

Messages of greetings were received from among others, Canadian Senator Pierrette Ringuette co-chair of the Canada-Cuba Inter-Parliamentary Group, the U.S. National Network On Cuba and Vancouver Communities in Solidarity With Cuba, who were unable to attend the Convention.

The Convention also had the distinct honour and privilege of hosting Luis Morlote Rivas, Vice-President of the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists and a member of the Cuban National Assembly, which is Cuba’s national parliament.  Moriote Revas had arrived in Toronto after participating in profound and detailed discussions by Cuba’s parliamentarians on the nation’s social and economic development.  At the Saturday, June 3 evening public event, Cuba Moving Forward in 2017, he spoke to a packed audience at Friends House. During his presentation, he emphasized Cuba’s determination to renew its revolutionary and nation building project, while preserving its independence and sovereignty. He also stressed that Cuba would continue on its path of building a society of ever greater equity and justice. Roberto Chile, the world famous photographer, also, spoke about his acclaimed exhibit, Commandante, on Fidel Castro. The exhibit is now on display at the Embassy of Cuba in Ottawa, with future plans for a Canada-wide tour.

In addition to plenary sessions, a pre-convention public lecture and three convention panels were also held. The Friday, June 2, pre-convention event, Fidel! Cuba! Africa! Africans Children Return! took place in front of a full house at A Different Booklist, where historian and Cuba specialist Isaac Saney explored the history and impressive dimensions of the Cuban Revolution's solidarity with Africa. The first Convention panel, Updating the Cuban Economy, featuring Deborah Ojeda and Isaac Saney, underscored the extensive democratic participation of the Cuban people as the country updates and renews its economy. On the second panel, Defend Cuba and Latin American Sovereignty and Independence, Sandra Ramirez Rodriguez and Filipe Stuart (Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network) outlined the historic victory for democracy, sovereignty and peace embodied in the Cuban Revolution. On the third panel, Building Solidarity with Cuba in Canada, panellists Don Foreman (Canadian Union of Postal Workers), Yamil Martinez and Nino Pagliccia (Communist Party of Canada) emphasized that despite the restoration of diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington, the U.S. economic war against Cuba continues unabated, and that opportunities exist to expand and elaborate solidarity with Cuba throughout Canadian society, especially amongst workers.

During the plenaries and panels, delegates re-affirmed the CNC’s commitment to further deepen the Canada-Cuba solidarity movement, resolving to do the utmost to defeat the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba, end Washington's ongoing campaign of subversion and ensure the return to Cuba of the illegally occupied territory of the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay. Delegates also highlighted the importance of the Canada-Cuba solidarity movement in ensuring that Canada-Cuba relations remain based on the international norms of mutual respect and equality between nations.

Toward these ends, steps were taken to strengthen the CNC’s work. Several resolutions and initiatives were adopted that established the priorities for the next two-years, including, mobilizing Canadian public and political opinion against U.S. policy and acts of aggression against Cuba, organizing and supporting activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and strengthening the work with members of parliament and legislatures.  

Under this mandate a new seven member executive was elected: Iris Cogger, Julio Fonseca, Don Foreman, Elizabeth Hill, Michael O’Neill, Isaac Saney and Saleh Waziruddin.  Elizabeth Hill and Isaac Saney were re-elected as co-chairs of the new executive. Subsequently, Isaac Saney, Elizabeth Hill and Saleh Waziruddin were re-appointed National Spokesperson, Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.

At the Conventions’s closing, the CNC expressed its deep confidence that the Cuban people will overcome any challenges that it faces. The CNC also reaffirmed that the Cuban people can count on the ongoing and undiminished solidarity and friendship of Canadians.  This solidarity and friendship is rooted in the overwhelming respect of Canadians for Cuba’s right to independence and self-determination, and a profound admiration for what the Cuban people have accomplished despite facing the unceasing aggression of the United States. This respect and admiration have forged unbreakable ties between the people of Canada and Cuba.

On behalf of the Canadian Network On Cuba

Isaac Saney

CNC co-chair & national spokesperson

Tel.: 902-449-4967

The man who transformed a land of rocks into the most fertile land of the world.

In the picture Fernando Funes, Agricultural Engineer, in “Finca Marta” a land at 20 kilometers of Havana, Cuba. He cultivates more than 60 species in Finca Marta, a sustentable-ecological farm he attends and works with his wife.

Today, his land is among the most productive lands in the world, and his employees are among the best paid. However, only four years ago, these lands were very different from how they are today. What is now a fertile, softly undulating land, was then compact soil, full of stones, woody marabu and lacking any water. Some believe that you have to be very ignorant or extremely crazy to think that an ecological, self-sustainable, agricultural project could be successful in such land. To give life to his project Fernando had to abandon the agricultural theory he believed in since he earned his doctorate in Holland; and, his wife had to renounce to her position with Melia Hotel International. Both felt as if they were taking a leap of faith, jumping into the dark. Nevertheless, they found themselves landing on their feet.

The beginning, they say, was very difficult; it took them seven months to open a water hole, breaking the stone in the ground manually, armed mainly with a pry bar. And yet, with effort, there were results. The first thing they were able to commercialize was mangoes which they collect opening paths through the wooden marabou with their bare hands.

Agriculture in Cuba was always complicated. Many slaves died because of failed attempts by colonizers trying to make these lands produce more than they could produce. Nature has also been devastated because it has not been treated properly. “Theory helps you understand the world in pieces; practice, however, is multi-dimensional, multi-directional and complex. One of the motivations I had to develop this project was precisely to try to understand agriculture from inside, within its own contradictions, within its own challenges,” said Funes.

Now he wants to spread his work so others get the courage to start agro-ecological projects as miraculous as his all over the world.

Eco-Portal -English translation: Nora Fernandez

El hombre que convirtió un páramo de piedra en la tierra más fértil del mundo

El Ingeniero Agrónomo Fernando Funes posa en la Finca Marta, a 20 kilómetros de La Habana, en Cuba. Allí cultiva más de 60 especies en la granja autoecológica y sustentable que mantiene junto a su esposa.

Su tierra es de las más productivas del mundo y sus empleados son de los que mejores salarios cobran. Pero estas tierras, cuatro años atrás, no tenían para nada la apariencia que tiene hoy. Lo que ahora es la granja era un lomerío de tierra compacta, llena de piedras, tupida de marabú y sin agua. Había que ser muy ignorante o estar extremadamente loco para pensar que allí podría funcionar un proyecto de agricultura ecológica y autosustentable. Para dar vida a este proyecto, Fernando dejó la agricultura teórica, que ejercía desde que se doctoró en Holanda, y su esposa renunció a su trabajo en la cadena hotelera Meliá. Ambos se sintieron saltando al vacío, pero cayeron de pie.

El comienzo fue difícil: tardaron 7 meses en abrir su pozo de agua rompiendo la roca a mano, armados tan solo de una barreta. Sin embargo, con el esfuerzo llegaron los resultados. Lo primero que comercializaron fueron los mangos, que pudieron cosechar abriéndose paso entre el marabú con sus propias manos.

La agricultura en Cuba siempre fue complicada. Muchos esclavos murieron a costa de los intentos inútiles de los colonizadores de hacer que las tierras produjeran más de lo que podían. 

También la naturaleza fue devastada por no ser tratada de forma correcta.

"La teoría te lleva a entender el mundo en pedazos. En cambio, la práctica es multidimensional, multidireccional, compleja. Una de las motivaciones para desarrollar este proyecto es poder entender la agricultura desde dentro, desde sus propias contradicciones, desde sus propios retos", cuenta Funes en una entrevista.

Ahora, busca difundir su trabajo para que muchos puedan animarse, en todo el mundo, a emprender proyectos agroecológicos tan milagrosos como el suyo. 

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